(Reuters) – Police in Illinois and Nevada are seeking links between cold-case killings and a man shot dead by a West Virginia prostitute when he tried to attack her, authorities said on Tuesday.

The suspect, Neal Falls, 45, was killed on July 18 in Charleston, West Virginia, when he threatened the prostitute’s life with a 9mm pistol. The woman, called “Heather” by police, seized the weapon during a struggle and shot him in the head.

SWEET BRIAR, Va. (Reuters) – High school senior Alexis Zsamboran was devastated when she heard that Sweet Briar College was planning to close and join a long line of U.S. all-women’s schools that have shut their doors.

Recruited to play field hockey, the 19-year-old from Toms River, New Jersey, had fallen in love with the school when she visited its campus nestled in the Blue Ridge foothills of Virginia.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A Florida man who flew a gyrocopter onto the U.S. Capitol grounds has rejected two plea deals and said on Wednesday his trial would be a forum on the need for campaign finance reform.

Douglas Hughes, 61, a former mail carrier from Ruskin, Florida, said he expected two trials from his illegal flight – one in U.S. District Court and a second in public opinion as he fights lobbyists’ influence in the U.S. capital.

(Reuters) – A Maryland judge has denied a prosecutor’s
request to keep lawyers for police charged in the death of a man
in April from publicizing evidence before the trial, the
Baltimore Sun reported late on Monday.

State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby, who is prosecuting six
police officers in the death of Freddie Gray, had wanted a
Circuit Court hearing to argue for a protective order barring
release of evidence.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – No injuries were reported at the U.S. Navy Yard in Washington on Thursday, a spokesman for the Washington D.C. Fire Department said, after the facility was placed on lockdown following reports of a possible shooter.

A shooter had not been found as police swarmed the Navy Yard, according to a local CBS radio station, amid heightened security concerns ahead of the U.S. July Fourth holiday weekend.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The National Museum of American History opened a $63 million wing on Wednesday celebrating the rich U.S. history of innovation and invention, from 19th century revolvers to hip-hop music and Silicon Valley computers.

The 45,000-square-foot (4,180-square-meter) Innovation Wing is designed to show how for more than 200 years the United States has provided a fertile environment for turning new ideas into reality.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Powerful thunderstorms packing heavy rain and high winds lashed the U.S. Middle Atlantic region late on Tuesday, killing one person, snarling travel and cutting off power to hundreds of thousands of customers.

The fast-moving band of storms stretching from Virginia to southern New Jersey dumped up to one inch (2.5 cm) of rain in less than an hour in some places, said Jim Hayes, a National Weather Service meteorologist in College Park, Maryland.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Powerful thunderstorms packing heavy rain and high winds lashed the U.S. Middle Atlantic area late on Tuesday, snarling travel and cutting off power to hundreds of thousands of customers.

The fast-moving band of storms stretching from Virginia to southern New Jersey dumped up to an inch (2.5 cm) of rain in less than an hour in some places, said Jim Hayes, a National Weather Service meteorologist in College Park, Maryland.

(Reuters) – Maryland Republican Governor Larry Hogan said on Monday he has an aggressive cancer of the lymph nodes but will continue to work during months of grueling chemotherapy.

Hogan, 59, told a news conference in the capital, Annapolis, that he had been diagnosed with stage III non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Exams had turned up about 30 to 40 tumors in his abdomen, neck and groin, he said.

About Ian

"Ian Simpson covers Italian equities from Milan with a focus on banks. In a 30-year career, he has been based in Dallas, Kansas City, New York, Washington, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Portugal and Italy. He has reported from more than 20 countries."